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U.S. 280: Tree removal clears path for planned road changes

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ALDOT plans to remove the U.S. 280 westbound exit to Blue Lake Drive and replace it with a road connecting Blue Lake with Grandview Parkway. ALDOT officials say the change will enhance traffic flow in the area and make room for a planned overpass to Interstate 459 south.
(AL.com / Marcie Richardson)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Trees removed from U.S. 280 westbound near Interstate 459 bring the corridor a step closer to two changes that will help with traffic flow, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation.

ALDOT plans to eliminate U.S. 280's westbound exit to Blue Lake Drive and replace it with a new roadway linking Blue Lake Drive and Grandview Parkway, Third Division Engineer Brian Davis said.

Taking out the exit leaves room for a possible flyover to carry westbound U.S. 280 traffic to Interstate 459 southbound. That flyover would eliminate the need for a traffic signal for a left turn onto I-459, which drivers say contributes to heavy delays.

The trees were removed as part of the more than $15 million package of intersection modifications and traffic signal changes completed in 2013 in an effort to ease traffic congestion.

Tree removal was added to the project as ALDOT officials knew they eventually would have to be removed someday for the flyover project, Davis said.

The new road segment between Blue Lake Drive and Grandview Parkway will address traffic shifts caused by signal removal on U.S. 280, Davis said.

That change created indirect left turns. Grandview drivers going eastbound on U.S. 280 first had to enter the westbound highway, exit Blue Lake Drive, do a U-turn and reenter the highway's eastbound lanes.

The new roadway will give more direct two-way access to Grandview, giving those driving to Grandview businesses an option to stay off U.S. 280.

Davis said the road segment project is scheduled for about a year from now.

The flyover project remains in the design phase, but cost -- estimated at $50 million -- is a major factor in when construction would begin, Davis said.